For years, reliable communication services have been provided over circuit-switched networks such as the Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”). More recently, packet-switched networks (e.g., the Internet) capable of carrying data and voice communications have been developed. Such networks allow Internet Protocol (“IP”) enabled devices to send and receive IP-based voice communications between one another over packet-switched networks such as the Internet.
Problems such as service interruptions may sometimes be encountered by subscribers to communication services provided over communication networks. In the past, subscribers typically notified service providers of problems by phone or e-mail when possible. Service providers then executed tests and/or other procedures to troubleshoot the problems. In a telephone network, for example, a carrier could internally test circuits and equipment to identify the cause of a problem.
More recently, applications have been developed to offload internal troubleshooting workloads by providing limited test management capabilities to subscribers. A conventional test management application generally enables a subscriber to manage limited test operations in order to self-test network resources (e.g., circuits). For example, a subscriber to a service provided over a Public Switched Telephone Network (“PSTN”) can use a conventional self-testing application to initiate a full circuit test.
However, conventional self-testing applications exhibit shortcomings. For example, traditional applications do not provide subscribers with tools for self-testing network resources beyond the circuit level. For instance, a subscriber experiencing a service interruption along a circuit may be able to initiate a test of the entire circuit using a conventional self-testing application, but the application does not allow the user to test specific subsections of the circuit. Accordingly, the subscriber is limited to discovering only very general test results for a circuit and is unable to pinpoint problems beyond the circuit level.